Ghalib – maKhdoom mohiuddin

Click here for overall comments and on any passage for word meanings and discussion.  maKhdoom probably wrote this as a part of the observations of centennial of Ghalib’s death. If so, it was just months before his own death. He uses it like Sahir did to also talk about the status of urdu in India.

tum jo aa jaao aaj dilli meN
Khud ko paaoge ajnabi¹ ki tarah1.stranger
If you (Ghalib) come to dehli today, you will find yourselves a stranger. Note – Ghalib was a prolific letter writer. The first postage stamp was issued in 1852 so this was a very early period of postal service but Ghalib was so well known that he insisted that all that was needed for his address was his name and dehli – and it worked. But today, Ghalib would be a stranger in his own city.

tum phiroge bhaTakte rastauN meN
ek be-chehra zindagi ki tarahYou will wander the streets like a face-less person. No one will know/recognize you.

din hai dast¹-e Khasees² ki maanind³
raat hai daaman⁴-e tehi⁵ ki tarah1.hand 2.stingy, miserly 3.like, similar to 4.apron 5.empty
Days are like a miserly hand and nights with an empty sack have nothing to offer.

panja¹-e zar-gari² o zar-geeri³
aam⁴ hai rasm⁵-e rahzani⁶ ki tarah1.hand, palm 2.making gold, hoarding wealth 3.stealing gold/wealth 4.commonplace 5.tradition 6.highway robbery
Hands stealing and hoarding wealth are commonplace like highway robbery used to be the norm.

aaj har maikade¹ meN hai kohraam²
har gali hai teri gali ki tarah1.tavern 2.tumult, disturbance
I am not really sure. Why is every street like Ghalib’s street. Is this referring to the tumult/sorrow in Ghalib’s street at the time of his death? If anyone has a different interpretation, please let me know.

vo zabaaN jis ka naam hai urdu
uTh na jaaye kahiN Khushi ki tarahI fear that the language which is called urdu will disappear like happiness has disappeared.

hum-zabaaN¹ kuchh idhar udhar saaye
nazar aayeNge aadmi ki tarah1.same language
Here and there you (Ghalib) will see a few shadows of people who speak your language.

tum the apni shikast¹ ki aavaz
aaj sub chup haiN munsifi² ki tarah1.breaking 2.justice
The first misra is a direct quote from Ghalib “maiN huN apnii shikast kii aavaaz” used here to mean … you spoke out but today everyone is quiet even like Justice itself is quiet. No one speaks out like you used to.

aa rahi hai nida¹ bahaarauN se
ek gumnaam² raushni ki tarah1.sound, voice 2.unknown, mysterious
Ghalib’s voice still echoes like a mysterious light.

is andhere meN ek rupahli¹ lakeer
ek aavaz-e haq², nabi³ ki tarah1.silvery 2.voice of Truth 3.prophet
Ghalib’s voice is a thin streak of light in this darkness … like the voice of Truth speaking like a prophet.